Editing Austrian Netherlands (section)

=== Brabant Revolution ===
{{Main|Brabant Revolution}}
In the 1780s, opposition emerged to the liberal reforms of Emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]], which were perceived as an attack on the Catholic Church and the traditional institutions of the Austrian Netherlands. Resistance grew, focused in the autonomous and wealthy [[Duchy of Brabant]] and [[County of Flanders]]. In the aftermath of rioting and disruption in 1787 known as the Small Revolution, many opponents took refuge in the neighboring [[Dutch Republic]] where they formed a rebel army. Soon after the outbreak of the [[French Revolution|French]] and [[Liège Revolution|Liège]] revolutions, the ''émigré'' army crossed into the Austrian Netherlands and decisively defeated the Austrians at the [[Battle of Turnhout (1789)|Battle of Turnhout]] on 27 October 1789. The rebels, supported by uprisings across the territory, soon took control over much of the territory and proclaimed independence. Despite the tacit support of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], the independent [[United States of Belgium|United Belgian States]], established in January 1790, received no foreign recognition and soon became divided along ideological lines. The [[Vonckists]] led by [[Jan Frans Vonck]] advocated progressive and liberal government, whereas the [[Statists (Belgium)|Statists]], led by [[Hendrik Van der Noot]], were staunchly conservative and supported by the Church. The Statists, who had a wider base of support, drove the Vonckists into exile through [[Revolutionary terror|terror]].<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1080/03096564.2017.1299964|title = Artist and Patrons: Court Art and Revolution in Brussels at the end of the Ancien Regime|year = 2017|last1 = Brown|first1 = Kevin|journal = Dutch Crossing| volume=48 |pages = 1–28}}</ref>

By mid-1790, Habsburg Austria ended [[Austro-Turkish War (1787–91)|its war with the Ottoman Empire]] and prepared to suppress the rebels. The new [[Holy Roman Emperor]], [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold II]], was also a liberal and proposed an amnesty for the rebels. After defeating a Statist army at the [[Battle of Falmagne]] (22 September 1790), the territory was soon overrun and the revolution was defeated by December. The Austrian reestablishment was short-lived and the territory was overrun by the [[French First Republic|French]] in 1794 (during the [[War of the First Coalition]]) after the 
[[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Battle of Fleurus]].